Monday, October 31, 2016

Happy Halloween! Did/are you doing anything festive for this eerie holiday? I didn't do much but I enjoy this time of year immensly. To get you in the spirit, I have three dark and vampy polishes to show you today from indie brand Shleee Polish. I've know the maker, Ashley, for a while now and I couldn't resist picking up a lacquer that she had teased on Facebook a while ago. She actually included two extra goodies for me in the package, incredibly sweet. Let's take a look!

My Roanoke Nightmare is the polish I had to purchase, it's named for this season of American Horror Story, a favorite of mine in general, but this season is epic-ly great! This has an opaque black jelly base filled with color shifting shimmer and red microglitter. This is two easy coats.

It looks different depending on the lighting, so I tried to show off the shift in indirect sunlight for you. I'm head over heels for this! This shade is not available in their store right now, but they do have a "2.0" version which is almost exactly the same though.

Black Moon is a black polish with color shifting shimmer, holographic shimmers, and iridescent glitter. It can shift more green or purple, I was only able to capture the purple though. This went on without any difficulty, creamy and with great coverage. This had a bit more of a scent to it than the other two, a little like old Kleancolor polishes, but it wasn't nearly that bad. I used two coats here. This polish is not available in their store right now, unfortunately.

Royal Witch 3.0 is a blackened violet with red/pink/copper shimmer, and red microglitter. This was a surprise favorite for me, totally makes me think "witch" and I love it. Effortless formula, opaque in two coats. This is the third version of Royal Witch, hence the "3.0" in the title, in case you were wondering. I think this is a great way of keeping her popular shades in stock while still using small batches!

Shleee Polish is 5-free and handmixed. Their products are available for sale on their Etsy store and range in price from $7 - $13 per bottle. I purchased My Roanoke Nightmare for $12. They put out new shades every Friday morning, so make sure to check out their Facebook page and Instagram to see swatches & previews of what's coming out each week! What do you think of these pretties? They certainly have put me in a proper Halloween mood! Hope your day is spooky spectacular!

❤ Kellie

The products mentioned were either purchased by me or received as a gift.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Hey folks! The winter collections are starting to roll out, and today I wanted to show you the 16 piece collection from KBShimmer for the upcoming season! This collection is filled with something for everyone, some shades are wintry, some are holiday-esque, and some are just really great colors!

Take Me For Granite is a pale grey crelly inspired by the first snow of the year, covering the asphalt with shades of white, gray and specks of black. This formula was great, like all KBShimmer crellies, let's be honest. You could use two coats, or three for a more opaque base like I did.

Spruce Things Up is a holiday green jelly polish with tons of micro holo and sliver glitters. Some of the glitter almost looks gold too, very blingy Christmas-tree looking. I used three coats here. Easy to apply, dries gritty so you'll want a thick top coat.

A Walk In The Park-a is a mid-tone orchid purple crème. This has a fabulous one coat formula, although I always use two. I definitely would rock a parka or a cozy sweater in this color, so cute.

Have A Look-Ski is a muted teal linear holographic. This is a slightly dusty shade for such a firey holo, more blue than green, kinda ocean/lake-y water color. Excellent formula, two coats.

Haute Mess is a mix of silver, copper, rose gold, and holographic glitters in a clear base. You could layer this or build it up on it's own, as I've done here. This is only two coats, it's super dense and full of glitter so it was very easy to get total coverage. I love the mixed metal look!

The Holy Kale is a green linear holographic with added micro glass flakes that shift between blue and pink. This started a bit sheer, it was right on the edge of being a two coater, but I thought it looked better with three. The shimmer has a very vivid shift, which gives it an interesting pop.

Ornamentally Flawless is a jewel toned glitter polish in shades of turquoise, fuchsia, gold, green and sliver in a clear base. I chose to put one coat over A Walk In The Park-a, but this is also super dense so it could be full coverage on it's own easily. I found the clear base dried crazy fast too.

Yeti Or Not is a very pale gray, almost white, polish loaded with iridescent and holographic glitters that glisten like "fresh fallen snow." Almost the same finish as the KBShimmer Mega Flame line, just a touch thicker. You can wear this alone for a textured finish, or use a thick layer of top coat or two to get a smooth, sparkly look. I built this up in three coats with a top coat.

Chai-huahua is a warm, brick red crème inspired by the spices that make up a chai drink, cinnamon, cloves and anise. This was super close to being a one coater, but I needed two to get the color you see in the bottle. This is a little bright in my shot, as I take photos in full sunlight, in other lighting it is a little darker and a bit more brown toned.

Ink Again is a super vibrant ink blue linear holographic. I can't even say anything about this, it's just SO GOOD. Two coats.

Whiskey Business is a warm, golden yellow with metallic flakes and a scattering of micro holo glitter. If you liked the Birthstone collection, you will love this! The formula was literally effortless to apply, opaque in two coats.

Royal To A Fault is a royal purple filled with micro glass flakes that shift from blue to violet at different angles. I was pretty blown away by this, and I usually don't go for blurples. Good formula, seemed a little sheer on the first coat, but after I used a bit of a thicker second layer it reached full coverage.

Get To The Poinsettia is a red linear holographic. Awesome holiday red, super fiery holo, and smooth as silk. Two coats here.

Soot and Ladders is a black jelly filled with micro flakes in a rainbow of colors, inspired by Christmas lights. This has a thinner formula, but was very easy to work with. I used two coats here.

Just Duvet It is a rich grape purple, almost a metallic but not quite, with a sprinkle of holo sparkle, and a dusting of pink shimmery flakes. Another impressive purple, great formula and opaque in two coats.

Bling In The New Year is made up of a base of silver metallic flakes and silver holo glitter with accents of colorful shifting flakes in pinks, greens, gold and blues. This is also in the Birthstone finish, lovely to apply though I found it ever so slightly runny, so be sure not to overload your brush.

This collection will be available for sale on Tuesday, November 1st on the KBShimmer website for $9.25 each. Two shades from previous year's winter collections, Holly Back Girl and sELFie, will also be available for purchase. International folks can purchase from Harlow & Co., though I don't have a date for their release.

There will be some excellent gifts with purchase available from 11/1 - 12/31/16 or while supplies last on KBShimmer.com! If you spend $25 or more (excluding shipping & taxes, after any discounts) you will get a chrome nail polish charm with the KBShimmer logo. If you spend $50 or more you'll receive the chrome charm, a mini crystal nail file with the KBShimmer logo, and free shipping! And if you spend $75 or more you'll get the charm, nail file, free shipping and a faux leather holographic cosmetic case with the KBShimmer logo! These items will also be available for sale separately on the website.

images via KBShimmer.com

Finally, they have some new limited edition holiday scents available in mani shots, mega shots, sugar scrubs, cuticle creams and lotions: Gingerbread Men, Very Merry Cranberry, and Cocoa And Cookies. I got to try Gingerbread Men and it's scrumptious! Let me know what you think about these shades, I have to say I'm pretty enamored with this collection! The Holy Kale, Royal To A Fault and Take Me for Granite are my favorites. Which ones catch your eye?

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Aloha friends! Today I am bringing you a new collection from Glam Polish called Experiment 626, inspired by the 2002 animated film Lilo & Stitch! If you haven't seen it, it's "the story of a small blue alien that is banished to Earth and adopted by a lonely Hawaiian girl who teaches him how to love." It's one of my favorite Disney movies, so cute and Stitch is adorable and hilarious. There are nine polishes in this collection and I have six of them to show you.

Nobody Gets Left Behind Or Forgotten is a subtle holographic pastel seafoam green with silvery pink shimmer and ultra holo glitter. My bottle cap had come loose on this so some of it leaked into the cap, which in turn exposed it to air so it ended up being a bit thick. But I'm almost positive yours won't be. I used two coats here. This dries a little dull so you'll want a shiny top coat to make it pop.

Evil Genius is a plum purple scattered holographic with glass flecks, multichrome shimmer that shifts from red to violet to blue, and ultra holo microglitter. This has a great formula, easy to apply and covers in two coats.

I’m Sorry I Bit You and Pulled Your Hair... is a subtle holographic blush peachy pink with a strong gold shimmer and ultra holo glitter. This is the same type of polish as the green shade, but it's not thick at all which makes me think it's the leaky bottle that made my green that way. Applied great, opaque in two coats.

Stitch to The Rescue has a bright blue milky-jelly base with neon pink, light blue and silver ultra holo glitter. The silver glitter gets coated in the blue base and it all looks deep and complex, like jeweled rock or something, sooo pretty. This was a little thin but easy as pie to apply. This is two coats.

Lilo You Lolo. is a sparkly sandy mix of glitters in holographic base. These shades go so well together, I am getting vibes of a colorful shells on the beach from this mix. Glam Polish has seriously cracked the code on perfect full coverage microglitters because all of the ones I've tried from them are perfection. This is two effortless coats. As with all glitters, you'll want a thick layer of top coat or two to get a smooth finish.

Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride is a teal crelly scattered holographic filled with glass flecks and multiple sizes of holo glitter. Beautiful and excellent formula, super close to being a one coater but I did use two layers here.

The other three shades in the collection are: Experiment 626 - cerise intense holo with navy glass flecks; Model Citizen - white crelly holo with blue glass flecks and multiple sizes of silver holo glitter; and No More Caffeine For You - lime scattered holo with strong golden shimmer, glass flecks and a hint of ultra holo glitter.

This collection will be available this Friday, October 28th, at 2pm EDT USA on the Glam Polish website. They are priced at $11.50 each. This is a limited edition collection so there's no telling how long it will be sticking around for. What do you think of these colors? Are you a Lilo & Stitch fan?

Monday, October 24, 2016

Soap time! Today I have the winter Soap Box from Fortune Cookie Soap to show you. The theme for this season is Through The Wardrobe, which is a nod to the book/movie series The Chronicles of Narnia, probably specifically the first book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. One of my all time childhood favorites, I love the book and the movie.

The FCS Soap Box is a quarterly, seasonal subscription box that includes eight samples of products in fragrances for that season's collection. I've reviewed quite a few of them at this point, and I still love them just as much as the first time! It's always exciting to see what the theme and scents are, as well as finding out what products are in the box because they're always changing. Scent is very objective, from person to person, so it's nice to be able to try all the scents in a collection before they offer them in all the different products at the main launch on their website. This box is STILL AVAILABLE to order at the time of posting, just an FYI!

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Hi there! I have to apologize for my lack of posting lately, the sun has been a shy bloke the past few weekends so I haven't had very much time to take swatch photos. And ya know, life happens too which sometimes makes blogging a little difficult. :P

Anyhooo, I have had these swatches in my files for a while now and I can't believe I haven't posted them yet! I am in a Facebook group for folks who love shimmer polishes, called SHIMMAHS, and the group admin and Ever After Polish got together to make some group custom shades and I was asked to take the swatch photos. They were only available on pre-order with a special code for group members, so sadly they aren't up for sale anymore. But I had to share them, they are my first ones from the brand after all.

Majestic is a pale sky blue with a subtle orange shimmer frost. This was a little sheer so I used three coats. I heard the final version had a bit more oomph to the shimmer which I'm sure looked nice. This reminds me of Cinderella!

Nymphadora, named for Tonks in the Harry Potter books, has a purpley magenta base filled to the brim with blue and purple shimmer bits. This applied easily and I used two coats here. This is one of the types of shimmer that can go everywhere upon removal, though.

Like I mentioned, these were limited release exclusive shades for the group members, but you can still check out Ever After polishes on their website. They seem to range from $8-$11. Have you tried this brand yet? Are you also a shimmah lover??

Friday, October 21, 2016

I've got some awesome polish shades and treatments from Pretty Serious Cosmetics to show you today! These have been available for a while, but I just got them a while ago and wanted to share my thoughts on them with you.

Type 40 is a Dr. Who type shade, specifically a TARDIS inspired blue crème. I've wanted this since it came out so I was stoked to get to try it. This is a 100% one coat wonder, no muss, no fuss, and no staining! I do always wear a stain-blocking base coat with blues but sometimes tricky ones can get through, not the case with this babe!

Breathless is a limited edition kelly green with gorgeous soft flake shimmer. This was created for friend
of Pretty Serious, Hannah from Polly Polish to celebrate her wedding. Excellent two coat formula, really a head-turner! Super low quantity available so grab this one while you can!

Mummy Mush is a golden glass fleck multichrome shimmer shade that shifts through green to baby blue and pink in various lighting. I used two coats for a delicate look but you can also built it up more for total opacity or even layer it over colored base shades for a different look! Sadly this is sold out right now, so keep your eyes peeled for restocks.

Cuticle Hero Super Hydrating Cuticle Oil is one of their treatments that I've had my eye on for a while, it's a more heavy duty moisturizing formula than their other oils. It's "created from a blend of spa quality massage oils" and has a robust orange scent. This one does contain a nut oil, which I know some can be sensitive to. I found this mega therapeutic and nicely hydrating for my cuticles. The scent wasn't my favorite, so I don't know if I'd order this again unless they came out with it in another scent. They do have lighters oils in yummy scents like cupcake and bubblegum so I might try those next.

image via Pretty Serious Cosmetics

Plump Up the Volume Gel Effect Top Coat is a glossy, thick gel-like top coat that is perfect for smoothing out bumpy glitters. I have their Aqua Coat top coat which is sort of the same idea, but this is that type of formula "on steroids". It has a lot more body if that makes sense. Dries a bit slower than quick-dry top coats, but it's worth it. I find this works best when I apply quickly and with purpose as it can pull up off the nail if you go over your strokes multiple times.

image via Pretty Serious Cosmetics

These products (except Mummy Mush) are available on the Pretty Serious website now for $8.95-9.95 AUD each. One thing I love about the Pretty Serious website is it automatically detects the currency for your region, so when I log on, it automatically shows me the prices in US dollars which is super helpful. Let me know what you think about these colors and treatments!

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Hi friends, today I have two polishes from the newish-to-me indie brand Pahlish to show you. This is only the second time I've reviewed this brand on my blog, but I have a few lacquers from them in my collection. I've come to admire a lot from them lately, their stuff has been really catching my eye. I had to purchase some from their fall collections!Pumpkin Patch is from one of their most recent collections, Ode to Fall. It's a warm espresso brown jelly with a mix of orange iridescent glitters and a scattered holographic finish. This was a bit sheer because of the jelly finish so I built it up in three coats. I love the deep look of the glitter suspended in the base. The scattered holo seems a bit flat in the photo, but it really pops in person.

Yellow Brick Road is from their early fall collection Out of Oz. It is a vibrant, sunshine yellow filled with metallic silver flakes with a strong scattered holographic finish. This applied easily, the blingy flakes lay nice and smooth. I used three coats but you might be able to get away with two.

You can find their products on the Pahlish website. Pumpkin Patch is available for $10, but unfortunately Yellow Brick Road is not in stock right now. I purchased it a while ago on clearance for $5. Have you tried this brand yet? I'm definitely going to be paying more attention to them now, I have fallen hard!

Saturday, October 15, 2016

The Holo Hookup is flying into our hearts again for another collaboration box! The November quartet is inspired by beautiful, colorful birds, themed as "Birds Of A Feather". The box always features unique, exclusive polishes from indie brands Cupcake Polish, DIFFERENT dimension and Glisten & Glow, with a fourth shade from a special guest brand. This month they are joined by Nine Zero Lacquer.

Cupcake Polish Flamingo is a bright orangey pink linear holographic. The first adjective I could think of when I first saw this was juicy! Can lean more orange in different lighting. Excellent formula, two coats for full opacity.

Glisten & Glow Purple Grenadier is a medium purple linear holographic with added shimmers and cherry red galaxy glitters. I found this to have a creamier formula than the others, a little thin but not difficult to apply. This is two coats. The red glitters really shine in person, giving this a unique pop.

DIFFERENT dimension Pygmy Kingfisher is a stunning gold linear holographic with a chrome red/orange/yellow multichrome effect. You have to see this to believe it, it's breathtaking! A touch thicker than the others, two coats here.

Nine Zero Lacquer Masked Flowerpiercer is a cerulean blue linear holographic. I've been fortunate to know the Nine Zero brand from their beginnings, they are a great brand. This applied effortlessly and covered in two coats, with slight brushstrokes.

The November box pre-order is open from Friday, October 21 9PM EDT through Friday, October 28 9PM EDT on The Holo Hookup website. The cost for the box is $40 plus shipping, domestic and international. I hope you enjoyed seeing these swatches, I really loved the colors this round. What do you think?

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Hey folks! I wanted to let you now I'm joining up with some awesome beauty bloggers for a EPIC giveaway on Instagram! You can enter to win the Urban Decay XX Vault plus a $200 gift card to Sephora! US only, 18+ years of age or parent's permission, please read all the rules before entering. Open until October 19th at 6pm EST.

Dioptase is a darkened blue-teal jelly crème with holographic flakes. This base is creamy but still technically a jelly I think, which that lends to being more opaque than a straight jelly. Two coats here.

Garnet is an opulent burgundy jelly with holographic flakes. This one seemed a bit uneven in some spots on two coats, so you may opt to use one more. This is super luxe, great for the fall season or holiday!

Paraiba is a vivid cyan-green jelly with holographic flakes. This surprised me, it's so bright and intense! A great formula, I used two coats here.

Smoky Quartz is a deep brown-black jelly with holographic flakes. This one was a nice opaque jelly, two coats. I think we've seen shades like this before, but the touch of brown here makes it a little more unique.

Morganite is a peachy pink jelly with holographic flakes. This was mostly flakes on the first layer, but it builds up to show off that rose gold base in three coats. This was almost blinding it was so sparkly in the sun!

Tanzanite is a brilliant "blurple" jelly crème with holographic flakes. A difficult color to capture 100% accurately but I think I came pretty close. This is another very pigmented, vivid shade that I love.

These shades are all now available on the Cirque Colors website for $13.00 each. I'm head over heels for this finish and the holo flakes! What do you think of these jewel toned lacquers? They also have a new six piece crème collection available now if that finish is more your style!